How Flutterwave Built Africa's Payment Infrastructure

From Y Combinator to $3B Valuation

When Olugbenga Agboola and his co-founders started Flutterwave in 2016, they saw a problem that others had overlooked: African businesses needed a simple way to accept payments from anywhere in the world. Today, Flutterwave processes billions of dollars in transactions and has become one of Africa's most valuable startups.

The journey wasn't straightforward. Before Flutterwave, Agboola had spent years working at Access Bank and later at PayPal, where he led their expansion into Africa. That experience—understanding both traditional banking and modern fintech—gave him an unfair advantage.

The Power of Infrastructure Thinking

What set Flutterwave apart was their decision to build infrastructure rather than consumer products. While others were building wallets and apps, Flutterwave built the pipes that everyone else would need. This B2B focus meant slower initial growth but created a more defensible business.

The lesson for founders: sometimes the biggest opportunities are in the unglamorous infrastructure layer. If you can become the plumbing that powers an entire ecosystem, you build something truly valuable.

Lessons for African Founders

Flutterwave's success offers several lessons: First, industry experience matters—Agboola's banking and fintech background was essential. Second, think regionally from day one—Flutterwave expanded across Africa before going global. Third, solve infrastructure problems—the boring stuff often creates the biggest moats.